Rating: 
Summary: Get the buzz going!!
Review: This is a fabulous book and I don't understand why I haven't heard more about it. I know it's the first book in a series by a new author, but this is easily as good or better than other boks I've read by much better known authors. A great story with wonderful characters and a well-drawn society. Read the other reviews if you don't believe me -- and if, like me, you've read this book and loved it, write your own review! I can't wait for the second book.
Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: This is a great start to a new fantasy epic. Normally when I read an epic, quick and easy references to Tolkein pop into mind (especially these days). And I have to admit I was afraid that this one would prove too similar to LOTR as well. The story starts off in a similar fashion-- an innocent finds a magical item and then is forced to run, encountering a strange forest creature immediately (Farrell's Seamcoim). Happily, there the similarities stop. Jenna is a unique and interesting character, evolving in unexpected but completely believeable ways. The stone begins to change her, not so much by the intrinsic power of the stone as by the corrupting influence of having such overwhelming power thrust on her. The ending is, as writer and critic Chekov demanded, completely unexpected but inevitable. Jenna's relationship with her mother is another fascinating aspect, but I won't give too much away. This is a great book. The pace picks up about a hundred pages in, when the other magic stones become active. Then it's a complete page-turner.
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